Packaging and weighing machine



June 13, 1939.

s. R. HOWARD PACKAGING AND WEIGHING MACHINE.

Filed July 29, 1937 INVENTOR BY 6'1- d ATTO EMEY Q Patented June 13, 1939 PATENT QFFICE PACKAGING AND WEIGHING MACHINE Stanley E. Howard, Milton, Mala, assignor to Pneumatic Scale Corporation, limited, Quincy,

Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 29, m1, Serial No. 150,263

'lclaiins.

This invention relates to a packaging machine. The object of the invention is to provide a packaging machine of novel and simplified construction capable of delivering a plurality of loads of substantially equal weight and in which provision is made for dividing the stream of material to be delivered into a plurality of substantially uniform streams-and for weighing the material delivered in one stream and for simultaneouslycutting ofl the remaining streams when such weighed load reaches the predetermined amount, to the end that a plurality of loads of substantially equal weight may be delivered by'the machine.

With this general object in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the packaging machine and in the various structures, arrangements and combinago tions of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawing illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a sufilcient portion of a packaging machine embodying the invention to enable thesame to be understood.

Referring now to the drawing, the invention is illustrated as embodied in a weighing machine a of the usual type now upon the market and which in general and except as to details and features to be hereinafter pointed out, may comprise the weighing machine forming the subject matter oi the patent to Stanley R. Howard, No. 1,893,622 of January 10. 1933, to which reference may be had for a complete description thereof.

As herein shown the illustrated weighing machine comprises a hopper casing It provided with a feed worm I! mounted in a suitable bearing l3 therein and which is designed to feed flowable sol d material through the hopper at a uniform rate. The hopper It may be supplied with material from any source as through the supply tube II. The material being fed from the hopper by the worm I2 is received'in a casing II which is divided into a plurality, and as herein shown, into two sections or compartments l3, H by a transversely extended dividing member 20. The dividing member serves the purpose of subdiso viding the material into two streams and provision is made for distributing the material fed by the worm I! from the mouth of the hopper in a uniform manner so that substantially equal portions of the stream are delivered into each comu partment It, I1, and for this purpose any suitable distributing device may be mounted upon the lower end of the worm l2 and, as herein shown, a disk It provided with blades i3 serves upon rotation to distribute the material centrifugally and u tons 24, 26 disposed beneath the ends of the m spouts.

In the illustrated machine one of the cartons 26 is supported upon the weighing end of a scale beam 28 of any usual or preferred weighing mechanism and preferably one such as is illustrated u and described in the Howard patent,No.1,893,622, above referred to. Provision is made for driving the feed worm l2 and for stopping the feeding of the material when the weighing operation is completed, and as herein illustrated, the upper end of the feed worm l2 is provided with a bevel gear 30 which meshes with a bevel gear 32 secured to a short shaft 3! iournalled in a bearing extending from the hopper casing Ill. The outer end of the shaft 34 is provided with a sprocket 33, fast thereon, connected to a sprocket 33 by a chain ll. The sprocket 38, loosely mounted on I a drive shaft 42 forms the driven member of a clutch M, the driving member 46 being slidably secured to the shaft 42. The shaft 42 may be 30 shifted, to engage the clutch either manually, as

by a handle I. or by means of a cam 52 mounted on a cam shaft 54 which may be, for the purposes of the invention, the secondary shaft shown in Fig. 5 of the patent to Howard above referred to and designated I in such patent. As herein m shown. the clutch lever 56 is pivoted at 53 and the cam 52 cooperates with a cam roll 60 mounted in the lower arm 32 of the lever 53. In operation, as described in said Howard patent, .the cam shaft 54 makes one revolution per cycle and then comes 5 to rest, and does not start again until actuated by means controlled from the scale beam. In the present instance the high part of the cam 64 causes engagement of the clutch and then passes by the roll before it comes to rest so that the clutch is free to be disengaged by mechanism controlled by the scale beam, as will now be described.

In order to cut of! the fiow of material from each compartment It, ll when the single scale 66 makes its weight, provision is made for closing shutters 96, Si and also for stopping the operation of the feeding device, when the weight is reached in the carton being weighed. For this purpose clutch 3 is arranged to'be dis engaged by an electromagnet As herein Show; he iever is provided with 61361." iii acted the electromagnet (it v.

coil iii is arranged to are closed by [is rgized. when contacts .weiglit end of the scale counterweight end of adjustable screw low pivoted at if, to roclz the convvhen the weight of the carton and s the desired weight. Tire contact i-lornially held in its open position by a spring resting st a stop L32. tile operation of the weig ill the some is reset, so tn. L'- it rests e Stop thereby permitting the contacts to it to opened and leaving the lever free to be Frovision is made for closing the i t s multaneously with .op ping of the feed worm i2 herein shown shutters 90 are provided spouts 22 and 2 The shutters are operated through connec from. the iever and which. inciude a p rock shafts journalled in the spouts 2 arms secured to the shafts $52, Qt, root: lever a connecting rod iiiil. in oper= ation, when the clutch it is disengaged, the shut ters it, iii are closed and when the clutch is again engaged the shutters are opened.

From the description thus far it will be observed thatthe present'invention enables increased production of loads of substantially uniform weight to be obtained in a machine embodying a lesser number and, as herein shown, only a single weighing mechanism thus simplifying the machine and reducing to a minimum its cost of manufacture.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a packaging machine, in combination, a hopper, a driven material feeding member within the hopper, means for sub-dividing the material being fed by said driven feeding member into a plurality of substantially uniform streams, a weighing device for weighing the material in one stream, means controlled by the weighing device forterminatingtheflowof said plurality of streams to form a plurality of loads when the weighed load reaches a predetermined amount and connections between the weighing device and said driven feeding member for interrupting the operation of the-feed member when the weighing device makes its weight whereby to produce one weighed load and at least one additional and unweighed load of approximately the weight of theweighed load.

2. In a packaging machine, in combination, material feeding means arranged to deliver fiowable solid material to be packaged in a plurality of substantially uniform streams, including a driven feeding member, means for weighing one of the streams to form a weighed load, means for terminating the flow of all of the streams when weighing a clutch the weighed load. reaches a predetermined amount and connections between the weighing device and the driven feeding member for terminating the operation of the latter when the wei hed. ioad reaches predetermined amount.

In a packaging machine, in combination, a hopper and a w mounted to turn therein to flowable solid material therethrough and discbargeit therefrom, said worm be g provided .ts lower ad with a device for on distributkg the material, a separatin d .ng the material into a plura ity of subtantlaily evenly divided streams to form loads, a g device for weighing one of loads and operating means for simultaneously stop-- ping the feed worm and for terminating the flow or" said streams, said operating means bein n-- and "worn-i mounted to turn th to fiowable solid material therethrough and d1scharge it therefrom, said worm new at the lower end thereof for uniformly 1 ai, a separating device for separating the r the eiial into plurality of evenly divided .o to form loads, a weighing device for one of said loads and means including lever controlled by said weighing device ior si iultaneously cutting on" all of said streams an for stopping the rotation of the feed worm when the weighed load reaches its'weight.

A packaging machine having, in combination, means for feeding flowable solid material in a plurality of substantially uniform streams, a weighing device arranged to weigh the material being fed from one stream, means responsive to the operation of the weighing device for terminatingthe flow or said stream to form a weighed load, and means cooperating with the weighing device for substantially simultaneously terminating the flow of the material in a different stream when the weighed load is formed to thereby form an additional and unweighed load of approximately the weight of the weighed load.

6. A packaging machine having, in combination, means for feeding fiowable solid material in a plurality of streams of substantially the same cross-sectional area, means for controlling the flow of each of said streams, a weighing device for weighing the flow of only one of said streams, and connections between said weighing device and said flow controlling means arranged and constructed to terminate the flow of said plurality of streams when the weighed load reaches a. predetermined amount, whereby to produce one weighing load and at least one additional and unweighed load of approximately the weight of said weighed load. Y

7. In a packaging machine, in combination, a feed hopper adapted to contain a supply of solid flowable material, means associated with said feed hopper for sub-dividing the material as it leaves said hopper into a plurality of streams of substantially the same cross-sectional area, a weighing device for weighing the flow of one of said streams, and means controlled by said weighing device for simultaneously terminating the flow of said plurality of streams to form a plurality 

